Fish bait return



April 16, 1957 R. H. BOGGS FISH BAIT RETURN Filed Aug. 15, 1956 IN VENTOR. ROBE/er H. B0665 United States Patent 2,788,606. EIS BAIT ETU N Robert HyBoggs, Carrollton, Ky.

Application August 15,1956, Serial No. 604,264

3 Claims (Gl: 43--44.97)

hist e tienir lata m fi hin ack d o P ieulat t e a retu n;

An byec thisinventionistoprovide a device which may be used n conjunction with a fishing lure on, bait to'pievent loss thereof due to snagging of ahook, bait or lure-on an-inaccesible submerged obstruction, resulting in thelqss-thereof.

zef urtherobject of .thisinventionis to provide a device of the above described character, which. may beused with deeprunning artificial lur esto prevent their loss by snagging on submerged obstructions r Aflfurther object of this invention isto provide a device of thgaboye character which coroperates with an obstruction or snag to, rais e alure or bait to preclude snagging ess at t e lure s n a was- A further object of this invention is to provide a device ofltheforegoing character which resists overturning by n s-r. a

furtherobj ect of this invention is to, provide a device of; the foregoing character which is adapted to co operati vel yr engagesnagsto insure adequate line tension for proper operation of the bait return device which serves to lpreclude-engaging of the. snagbythe lure used in conjunction with the device.

A r fu rther object of thisinvention isjto provide a device OfIhQ QICgOing character which maybe used in conjunction with a tlure having the mostefiective fish-catching venti n 119 i -Wate ha n na sv further object .ot ihlSlQVfilfliiQl'hiS to provide a deyice of the foregoing character adapted for use with baitsof wide an i ht nc d n h: e y light weight baits and the heavy weight baits.

At further object of th is invention is to provide adevice fi e bo e har c er hi e vs to, iPrQy the-cast by reasonofits weight being adjacentto the bait or lure are cas nd-b e sonrof. e ct a it s antia y precludes snaggingof the. hook orhooks of the bait or h re upon tl' eflinet adjacent the bait during execution. of the cast thus insuring entry of, the bait into the water in ner t vawnd a A further object of this invention is to provide a device of the. above character havin g its weight distributed in such ,fas'h'on that its dynarnic balance tends to place it in 'th preferred operatiye position relative to the fish line rmame t a -J A further object of this inventionis to provide a device of the f re oing characterihavin'g an elongate boom portion adapted to cooperate. with a fish line adjacent a bait secured thereto and with said fish line at least one point spaced from said first mentioned point, said boom having apairof feel'er members secured thereto adjacent the end rernote frorn the bait and extending in diverging relation downwardly and rearwardly to coinpoundly curved portions which converge toward each other and extend away front the boornto the trailing free end portions to form skiddi'ke portions adjacent the trailing ends of the feeler rnernbers, and a pairof trigger members shorter than and between said" feeler mer'nbers and having portions 2,788,606 Patented 3 Apr, 16

thereof projecting away frorn the boorn and feeler merribers andadapted tov co-opera te with an obstructing snag to zefiect pivoting of the device fthereabout to prevent engagement of the bbait therewith.

A further object of this'invention is to providea device of theaboye character which is sturdy, long-lasting, easily transported and maybe sold at a reasonable price,

The above and other lobjects and features of the invention twill in part be apparent. and in part obvious to those having ordinary skill inthe art to which. this invention pertains, from the following description-and tthe accornpanying drawing in which: I

F u e 1 sa Vi w z e rect wa i e mbeds i f myiriventi on shownv inco-ope ration with a fishing line and deeprunning artificiallure; approaching obstrucon; V b r b,

re 2v i a J e er v s e 9 the ime ne tw tion and. bait returnsshown in Fig, l in which the bait return is cooperatively. engaging the obstruction and guidingthe lure so aslto preclude its snagging upon the obstruction, and. showing in, dot-dash lines the position into which the bait return and lure move after the former mores out of engagement with the obstruction; and;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmental yiew of the connection of the boom. and; feelers shown in Fig.1,

e ev c haw -i Fi -7.11 wh t P CW F Y ppe r to be the preferredforrnof ernbodirnent of my invention.

The device fircon prisesta boorn 6, feelers 7 and 3, and trigger rne nbers 9 anti ll lrjoined together by any suitable m al as sh wl al a $il9 Q l hQ Wi 8 I prefer to fabricate the device 5 from a resilient wire stock. Theparts of a bait ret urn Sconstmctedfrorn such material. may, be temporarily distorted in a substantial amount in use withonttany' permanent distortion.

loom 6 om wfifl 19n at 1nt lport n l m the end of which a pair of; parallel arms 12 and 3 extend perpendicularly. Arn s 12 13 terminateinring or eyelet portions 14, l fiadapted to encircle a fish Line16witl1eyelet 141 i t t=lli b i Q 3 e 7w ss w h A pair of teeler s 7', S are bpreferablytformed frornua single p iece ofi stock having a curved or bent. central portion 18 joining the feelers 7, 8 in an inverted Vrfih p tr nit Curved; portionlil is adapted-to straddle portion ll of the boom a djacent :arrn13. As shown in Figs 1, curved portion 18,. 1nay;lie in .a planesubstantially p'erpendicular to. portion ll vwhile elongate portions 19; and 2t) of feelers 7 and;8,are joi;ned thereto by intermediate curved portions 21 and; 22-, Elongate portions l9 -andt20 eigt enrl in syinn retrically diverging, relation. from rportio 'i 18 theplane of-boorn portions 11; 12 and 13; being the plane, of -Isy-tnrnet-ry Portions19 and 21121130 are inclined relative to boomportion; 11 53nd extendv downwardly and rearwar dly fromadjaeent arrn 13 toward the diametral plane of-boorn portion ll in which the longitudinal center line of arm 12 lies. The-trailingportion of eachteeler 7, 8 c1 1rves downwardly at 2 3,. 241 andt then recurves at 25 26 toward parallelism with theplane of portions 19, 0 n ing rwth fitiQflUd Trigger members 9, 10, as shown'in the drawing, have portions 29, 30 secured I by any suitablelmeans, such as soldering; in parallel contacting relation to portions 19, 2110f the feelers 7, 8, respectively. Portions31, 32 extend in substantially parallel. relation to each other from therespectiveportions 29, 30integral therewith. Portions 31, 32 may be coplanar with portions 19, 2t) and 29, 30 or they may extend in straight or slightly curved manner frombends 33, 34 forwardly to bends 35, 36. Byforwardly I mean thatadjacent bends 3'5, 36 of portions 31, 32 are in spaced relation to the plane of portions 19, 20 which plane is disposed between those bends 35, 36 and eyelet' 14, Portions 37, 38 to portions 31, 32 by bends 3s, 36, extend away from the plane of portions 19, 20. The substantially equal angles included between portions 37, 38 and 31, 32 are right or slightly obtuse angles.

To use the bait return, the fishing line 16 is threaded through eyelet 15, eyelet 14, and attached to bait 17 by any suitable means such as knot 39. Eyelet 14 of bait return rests against knot 39 under force of gravity when the bait 17 is suspended by line 16 below the tip of the fishing rod. During the back cast and the cast, additional dynamically imposed forces act to urge return 5 against knot 39. Bait 17 and return 5 are thus kept in close spaced co-operating relation during the cast and their combined mass aids in attaining longer casts. During retrieving of the bait, water resistance forces hold them in co-operating relation.

The spaced eyelets 14, 15 co-operate with the line 16 to support it, maintaining it in substantially straight condition even when slack. The eyelet 14 co-operates with adjacent portions of bait 17, substantially precluding swinging of the bait 17 into a position in which hooks 40 foul on the line 16. Thus, a successful cast of bait 17 may be made when bait return 5 is used, even though a similarly made cast without return 5 would result in fouling of hooks 40 on line 16 and placing of bait 17 in the water in inoperative condition.

The arrangement of the parts of bait return 5 give it a weight distribution which biases it toward depending operative relation from and with line 16. Thus it drops into the water in operative position at the end of a cast. The bait dropped into shallow or deep water in cooperative relation with the bait return 5 at the end of the cast, is in operative relation to return 5 and line 16, ready for the strike of a game fish or for being retrieved in an attempt to lure such a fish to strike at the bait.

As bait 17 is retrieved, return 5 immediately precedes it. During retrieving of bait 17 line 16 normally inclines upwardly from bait 17 to the tip of the fishing rod (not shown) located above water level. This inclined attitude of the line serves to regulate the position of the return 5 and boom 6, particularly portion 11 thereof is aligned with and spaced beneath the line 16. The position of the boom 6 being substantially fixed in relation to feelers 7, 8 and triggers 9, 10 serves to determine the angular relation of the feelers 7, 8 and triggers 9, 10, to line 16.

Bait 17 shown, is of the diving type, having a spoonlike diving plane and an inclined front face. As bait 17 is retrieved, its depth of travel is regulated by the speed of its movement relative to surrounding water. As an obstruction or snag 24 is approached, line 16 may run over it, or above it, until bait return 5 engages it, depending upon the elevation at which bait 17 is running relative to the elevation of the upper portion of the snag 41. Feelers 7, 8 may touch or ride over obstructions, but when an obstruction upon which hooks 40 are likely to snag, is encountered, it is engaged by the tips 42, 43 of the triggers 9, 10. They tend to grab or snag upon the obstruction 41. As the tension on line 16 increases, as a result of a fisherman retrieving more of his line, return 5 lean-s forward toward a position in which the plane of line 16 at eyelet and the two points of contact of triggers 9, 10 with snag 41 is coincident with the line of the portion of line '16 to the right of eyelet 15 extended leftwardly, the position shown in Fig. 2. As return 5 moves from an attitude such as that shown in Fig. 1, toward or to an attitude such as that shown in Fig. 2, the attitude of Mom 6 undergoes a corresponding change and eyelet 14 moves from a position of substantial alignment with the portion of line 16 to the right of eyelet 15 into a position in which it is substantially elevated above the line of the portion of line 16 to the right of eyelet 15, extended leftwardly past eyelet 15. Inasmuch as line 16 is being subjected to increasing tension incident to this change in attitude of return 5, bait 17 is drawn more firmly toward or against eyelet 14, and thus rises in conjunction with eyelet 14. In this way the bait 17 is elevated above the snag 41 and placed in a position in which it will not come in contact with that snag. As the tension of line 16 increases, portion 11 tends to bow or arch as shown in Fig. 2. Triggers 9 and 10 fabricated from resilient material bend elastically under the forces resulting from increased line tension until they disengage snag 41. Following such disengagement, line 16, return 5, and bait 17 move toward the positions shown in dot-dash lines. It may be noted that portion 11 simultaneously returns to the straightened normal condition shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and in dot-dash lines in Fig. 2 as the tension in line 16 de creases. In the latter relationship of these elements, return 5 is again in substantially the attitude illustrated in Fig. 1.

It may be further noted that bait return 5 hangs beneath line 16 and in the event that only one of the feelers 7 or 8 alone encounters an obstruction which might tend to topple the return 5 over into another attitude, the pendulous nature of its association with line 16 results in its immediate return toward a normal attitude such as is shown in Fig. 1. Further, the recurved portions 23--27 and 2428 of feelers 7, 8 respectively, co-operatively engage the bottom 44. When device 5 is tipped to one side so that only portion 2327 or 24-28 of the feeler on that side is in co-operative contact with the bottom 44, the co-operation tends to produce compensating repositioning of the device toward the normal attitude as shown for example in Fig. 1. Thus the device is normally urged toward the preferred operating position or attitude.

The resilient quality of the device 5 coupled with the nestability of a plurality thereof as a result of the arrangement of their parts permits economical shipping of a substantial number of the bait return devices in a modest size container. Further, eyelet portions 14, 15 and re curved portions 23-27, 2428 of feelers 7, 8 serve to preclude portions of device working through the container wall into partially protruding position.

Having thus described the illustrated embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains, that modifications and changes may be made in the embodiment without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Therefore, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A fish bait return comprising an elongate resilient boom adapted for co-operative engagement with a fish line adjacent a trailing bait, a pair of resilient feelers secured to the boom and adapted to extend away from the line and inclined toward the bait, and at least one trigger, said trigger being intermediate said feelers and adapted to co-operatively engage an obstruction whereby the boom is swung to guide the bait away from the obstruction.

2. A bait return comprising an elongate resilient boom having a pair of coplanar arms extending angularly therefrom, each arm having a ring portion spaced from the boom, said rings being in substantially axial alignment, a pair of resilient feeler members secured to said boom adjacent one of said arms, each of said feelers extending symmetrically away from the plane of the boom and arms in obtuse angular relation to said adjacent arm, and at least one trigger member having a free end portion extending away from said boom and between said feelers to its free end, whereby the bait return may be supported on a fish line extending through said ring portions to a bait, said feelers and trigger member being adapted to co-operate with snags to preclude snagging of the bait thereon.

A b t fiurn comprising an elongate resilient boom having a pair of coplanar arms extending angularly therefrom each arm having a ring portion spaced from the boom, said rings being in substantially axial alignment and adapted to co-operate with a fish line extending therethrough to a bait, a pair of feeler members joined together in V-shaped relation at and secured to the boom adjacent one of said arms, said feelers extending symmetrically away from the plane of the boom and arms in obtuse angular relation to the adjacent arm and in acute angular relation to said boom, said feeler members being adjacent their free ends compoundly curved away from the boom in mutually converging relation to the free ends thereof, and a pair of trigger members, each trigger member being secured to one of said feeler members and having free portions disposed substantially 15 10 structions.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 481,460 Canada Mar. 4, 1952 

